The Failed Guardian Who Saved The World
by Uncle RJ Kitten
Summary: When you had failed to protect the Master Emerald from the world, you will lay down your life to save the world from the Master Emerald.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_Without any other words, Knuckles screams a battle cry and charges towards the enemy. He jumps, pulling one fist back and strikes. The enemy easily blocks it with one hand._

"_All your attempts will be futile," the enemy says towards, smirking a bit. "But I'm willing to humor them, yours is the one I am looking forward to, Failed Guardian." He successfully lands an uppercut, causing the echidna to fly back and skids along the ground._

_Knuckles didn't waste any time. As soon as he stands he immediately rushes forward to the enemy. He leaps, both arms pull back with knuckles ready._

_He strikes, but the enemy is quicker. He ducks under the knuckles and swipes the echidna's legs. Knuckles grunts in pain and the enemy grabs his jaws._

"_I can do this all day," the enemy tells him as he dangles the echidna at arm's length. Knuckles grasps the hand that holds him above the ground. With a sudden action, he twists the wrist with a tight grip, enough to release him. He kicks the enemy's chest, creating a distance between. Both plants their feet to the ground to skid to a stop._

"_So can I."_

.

Knuckles suddenly gasps, snapping his eyes open and sharply looks up with piercing violet eyes. This feeling… He growls deeply and clenches his fists tightly, standing up from his spot.

Someone has somehow stepped on his island. He could feel it. The vibe this person emitting is not a good attention. He or she without a doubt is after the Master Emerald.

And this one is not the Jewel Thief he is silently waiting for.

He waits patiently, and soon a figure emerged from the dense forest before him. It's a deep blue Anteater, bluer than Sonic, claws as big as his knuckles, and eyes are bright toxic green, and piercing. From the way the anteater holds itself up and the way it walks, the Anteater is a male, and a confident one that is.

He stops right at the base of the shrine when he realized he is not alone on the floating island. He looks up emotionlessly at Knuckles, who stood at the top of the shrine in front of the Master Emerald glaring down at him.

"Well, it looks like someone's got here before me," the anteater comments. His tone is a bit deep and disconcertingly dark. It reminds him a little too much like Memphis.

"No one has gotten here before you," Knuckles replies with a deep growl, threatening him.

_'Except for one, but she's excluded.'_ The Anteater didn't react, still looking up at him emotionlessly.

"What does that makes you?" he asks, more mocking than questioning. They stare at each other without blinking, waiting for one to back down but neither did.

"The guardian," Knuckles answers with a growl. For the first time since his appearance, the Anteater chuckles with a small smirk.

"So the guardian does exist."

"Who are you?" the said guardian demands, taking a step down closer to the Anteater, clenching his fists in preparation. The Anteater chuckles louder as his smirk widens.

"Just your enemy." He takes a daring step up the stairs.

"Come any closer and I'll pound you to the ground," Knuckles threatens. The anteater scoffs.

"I would like to see you try," he coaxes, taking another step.

"Oh you're asking for it."

Without hesitation, Knuckles jumps from his spot and dives knuckles first to the anteater. He blocks with crossing his arms. Judging the surprised look on his face, he underestimated Knuckles strength as he flies back into a tree.

"Leave now or I kick you out myself," Knuckles warns as the anteater recomposes and growls in frustration.

"Don't kid yourself. That Master Emerald will be mine." With a battle cry, the anteater dashes forward with a claw ready to strike. Knuckles easily blocks it with one hand.

"I would've called you a thief," Knuckles says towards him, smirking a bit. "But there can be only one thief for me. And she will always will be a little jewel thief no matter what." He successfully lands an uppercut, causing the anteater to fly back once more into the same tree.

The anteater didn't waste any time. As soon as he detaches himself from the tree he immediately rushes forward to Knuckles. He leaps, both arms pull back with claws ready. He strikes but Knuckles was quicker. He ducks under the claws and swipes the anteater's legs. The anteater roars in pain as Knuckles backs away.

"I can do this all day," he tells him. The anteater, kneeling on the ground tending his injury, looks up at him and glare.

"I will have that Master Emerald."

Knuckles couldn't help but feels shivers running down his spine. Something feels off with the way the anteater says Master Emerald. It makes him very wary, and doubling the effort to protect the Master Emerald.

The duo hears buzzing in the distance. The anteater looks startled while Knuckles is already familiar the sound. Right above them a plane flies by and getting closer by the minute.

"I'll be back, guardian!" the anteater shouts, displeased. "This will not be the last time you see me!" He runs away into the dense forest as fast as he could with a limp. Knuckles refuses to relax until two familiar figures emerge from a different side of the forest.

"Knuckles! Are you okay buddy?" Sonic asks in concern as he screeches to a stop beside him, and Tails lands right next to him.

"I'm fine, barely a scratch," he replies, finally feeling safe enough to let down his guard and straightens up.

"Who was that?" Tails asks, looking back at where the anteater had disappeared. Knuckles growls lowly, glaring at where the anteater had escaped, for now.

"Enemy." Sonic rolls his eyes.

"We know he's an enemy but-"

"I don't know." Knuckles cuts him off. "He didn't say his name, only introducing himself as an enemy."

"Well, it looks like we've put a name on the list of people wanting to steal the Master Emerald. Oh wait, he didn't say any name."

"This is no joke, Sonic," the red Echidna snaps at the blue hedgehog. "He is no small thorn that can be easily dealt with-"

"You're using a metaphor? Is the world ending or-" Knuckles' growl stops Sonic from continuing on.

"That enemy is a pretty big deal. There's… something about him that seems off."

"Yadda yadda, words. You've said that to everyone who come for that green stone under your dreads. You're just paranoid, like you always are." Sonic crosses his arms. "He's on his own, unlike Eggman who has his minions doing all of his dirty works. You could deal with him."

Knuckles didn't look convinced, still glaring at the same spot. Tails comes to his side and lays a hand on his broad shoulder.

"Relax, Knuckles. He's already gone. I doubt he'll be returning anytime soon. But if you need help with him, you could call us if you want."

Knuckles tears his eyes away and looks at the yellow fox, who smiles at him in assurance. He sighs. He shakes his head, intentionally letting his dreads fly around before resting. He didn't feel the anteater on the island anymore, so he could relax.

"Yeah…" He doesn't know which one he is answering to but he pushes the matter to the side for now. "So what are you guys doing here?"

"Egghead is up to no good, again," Sonic answers with annoyance in his tone. "Though this time, he's really giving it all."

"We saw an army heading south from here," Tails continues. "And the soldiers aren't even the small ones. We need all the help we could get, so it would be nice if you could convince the Chaotix to join the fight."

Knuckles grumbles. He's a little unhappy not at their request or at Eggman but at enlisting the Chaotix to join them. Usually he hired them to look after Angel Island whenever he is away; if taking them away then Angel Island is vulnerable, which means Master Emerald is vulnerable.

"I need them to look after the island, and I'm not risking leaving Angel Island unattended." Especially after the anteater's visit just now. The duo deflates and he feels a little guilty at taking away some helping hands from them. He takes a deep breath and breathes out through his nose.

_'Well, I can't believe I'm doing this.'_

"I'll try contacting Rouge and see if she's up for the offer."

Sonic raises a knowing eyebrow and smirks and Tails looks away whistling. He grumbles in dismay.

"Don't get any wrong idea."

"I have absolutely no idea what you mean, Knuckles."

.

"_Come on! Get moving!" Sonic yells as destroys a few flying blocks in his Super form. Tails is flying above as he leads people to safety while Amy is breaking chunks of blocks that are in the way, effectively creating shortcuts._

"_Is that all of them?" Amy asks, panting from exertion as Sonic and Tails lands beside her._

"_Yes, I checked," Tails answers. A few noticeable scuffs are there and here all over his yellow body. He must have had gotten into tight crevasses in search for any trapped people._

_Suddenly, a red figure crashes into the just vacated building, causing it to crumble down and filled the entire street with thick amount of dust, causing a wide spread of panic._

"_Knuckles!" Sonic shouts, flying over to the crumbled building, with Tails and Amy close at his heels. They quickly dig and break away any debris in searching for Knuckles. Out of sudden, part of the crumbled building explodes and emerges the echidna. He's barely bleeding and isn't tired even a single bit._

"_Knuckles, you need to let others to take the fight!" Amy persuades, coming up to his side._

"_No." His voice is still as firm as possible. Sonic grasps his shoulder firmly._

"_I could take over the battle for the moment."_

"_No." His voice is firmer than before as he shrugs the hand from his shoulder. "This is my responsibility, Sonic. This is MY fight." He begins to walk towards the enemy who is approaching them fast._

"_But-"_

"_Don't waste your energy on him. Use them to rescue the others and leave no one behind. Make sure all the families are united. And Sonic, Tails, Amy…" he suddenly trails off. They look at him expectedly, waiting for him to continue. He takes a deep breath._

"_Thank you… for being the greatest friends I've ever had…" And with that, he returns back to battle with Enemy. After hearing his words, they couldn't help but feels a dread at the pit of their stomach._

_A scream caught their ears, calling for help. They immediately rushes in for the rescue while sparing a glance at Knuckles._

_The echidna successfully landed a right hook on the enemy, but he retaliates back by an uppercut._

_"Damn you, Knucklehead," Sonic curses and flies off._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_Knuckles plants his knuckles into the ground to stop from skidding back any further. He immediately raises them back up and points at the approaching enemy. He strikes, and Knuckles reflects. He strikes and the enemy reflects. Knuckles manages to head butt the enemy, causing him to flinch. He uses this moment to quickly land a left hook on the enemy's face. This time, however, he barely reacts to the fist on his cheek._

"_Quite impressive," the enemy comments, nonchalantly pushing the hand back as he turns his face. "You were never this strong when we first fought." Knuckles doesn't waste any time and lands another hook with his right hand. This time, the enemy stumbles back and Knuckles jumps back, creating a distance between them once more. "How disrespectful, punching a person mid-sentence." The enemy, leaning forward slightly, rubs his other cheek while letting his other arm dangles._

"_Really?" Knuckles replies, relaxes his stand but not letting his guard down. "If I remember correctly you'd stopped babbling when I landed a hit." The enemy hums in amusement. He straightens up and tilts his head to one side._

_Suddenly, he vanishes._

_Knuckles gasps before feeling a presence behind him. He quickly turns but a tad too late to dodge the punch coming to his face._

"_Why don't you go back to that floating island of yours and guard your precious jewel?" Enemy mocks. The echidna flies back from the powerful force and skips multiple times. "Oh wait, there is no more floating island. I forgot about that. Did you, Failed Guardian?" Knuckles plants his feet on the ground, slowing him to a stop._

_He quickly gets back to his feet and raises his fists, glaring at the enemy without any faltering._

"_Even if the floating island still exists and my precious jewel is still there, I am not going to spend my last breath standing in front of it waiting for nothing to happen," Knuckles growls menacingly at the enemy who is unfazed by it._

.

Knuckles patiently waits with his arms crossed over his chest, letting the serene sound and feel of nature surround him. It's not long before he hears a familiar flap of wings and breaks his peace.

"Took you long enough." He uncrosses his arms and looks up at the descending person.

"My, My, Knuckie; were you waiting for me?" Rouge teases with a giggle as her feet finally touch the ground. Her bat wings flaps a few times before stopping.

"Over my dead body, Thief," Knuckles growls in respond. Rouge pouts in return. He sighs and recomposes himself. "Listen, I need a favor."

"You? A favor?" This time, Rouge raises a curious eyebrow. "What could it possibly be? You want a mate to repopulate?" she asks seductively, smooching at him. Knuckles' face instantly goes red.

"ON BEHALF OF SONIC! And I do not need YOU for me to repopulate!" Rouge laughs heartedly and Knuckles growls in frustration.

"You look handsome when you're flustered, Knuckie."

"Rouge!"

"Alright, alright. I'll stop, for now." Rouge raises her hands before placing one on her hips. "So what's this favor then?" Knuckles sighs in relief before recomposes himself once more.

"Eggman is making a move down south. He's bringing an entire army with him."

"And you're saying…?" Rouge looks at her nails impatiently. Knuckles grumbles at her attitude before continues.

"We need all the help we could get. You have Omega with you, and you can contact Shadow much easier than the rest of us."

"What's in for us?"

"Another day to live."

"Why not your precious stone there?" Knuckles didn't answer, merely giving her a plain look. She stomps and harrumphs. "Meanie. I'll see you down south then, Knuckie!" She blows him a kiss before she slowly takes off from the ground.

"Rouge…" She halts in midair and stares at Knuckles, who now has his back facing towards her. She is surprised at his soft tone.

"Yes…?"

"…Don't die… okay…? I'll… give you a diamond in return… when you're safe…"

Taken by surprise, her wings stops and she gently floats back to the ground. Rouge stares at his back for the longest time.

"…I won't… I promise."

Finally, she takes off. As she flies away from the floating island, she places on hand on her chest, feeling it beating a tad harder than before, feeling it mildly… singing. She smiles and twirls in the sky before diving.

That is probably the kindest thing Knuckles had ever said to her.

.

The giant robot makes a giant sweeping motion. Knuckles manages to jump over it and lands a hard jab right into its head, knocking it off from its body. It leans backward and slams into the gr-

"HELP!"

Knuckles quickly turns around and realizes that no one is behind him. He then notices a pair of hands grabbing onto the ledge, alarmingly slipping off. He sprints forward just as the hands slipped off. He dives off the ledge, one hand grabs onto it while the other manages to snatch the person's wrist.

From his position, he finally notices that there is a long chain of people hanging onto each other's legs, with the person he is grabbing is Shadow.

"Omega, you're digging into my legs too hard!"

"Tails, pull us up!"

"I can't! It's too heavy!"

"Rouge!"

"Who do you think I am!? Hercules!?"

Everyone's panicking, not a good news. It's causing them to swing back and forward. Knuckles needs to think fast.

"Shadow, grab my legs," Knuckles wheezes, his grip on Shadow's arm begins to slip. "Do it now!"

Without any other choice, Shadow shifts and grabs onto the Echidna's legs tightly. The others below him scream when they dropped a foot. Knuckles then grabs onto the ledge with both hands. He grunts, baring his fangs. The ledge suddenly cracks and his fingers burrow deep into it until knuckles deep.

"One by one, climb up. Quickly!" he orders. He glances over his shoulder to check on the current situation. Amy was the last in chain. She slowly and carefully climbs each person.

"Excuse me, Knuckles," Amy apologies as she steps on his shoulders and onto safety.

Omega is next. His climbing is a little bit painful, for being mechanical. The next three people are Sonic, Tails and Rouge. Now with the weight relieved, Tails and Rouge flies up, with the fox carrying Sonic. Shadow is last, and he climbs over Knuckles and onto the floor.

.

"Safe, at last," Amy huffs as she kneels on the ground, feeling rushed from the hanging.

"I'm surprised all of us didn't make it in time to dodge that robot's attack," Tails comments, also huffing.

"It must have bruised your ego, Shadows," Rouge says cheekily to the brooding black hedgehog. He merely avoids eye contact.

"Alright Knuckles, you're up." Sonic bends down and grabs one of his arms but suddenly freezes. The said arm didn't budged. It's not Knuckles resisting, no.

His hands embedded into the ledge and gripped onto it so strong he won't go anywhere. He is firmly stuck.

Has… Has Knuckles really been this strong?

"Dude-" Sonic got cut off when Knuckles begins to tremble and his arms follow suit. The ledge cracks even more and one of his hands is released, to which Sonic grabbed on instinct. The other one follows a bit behind but he is freed.

"Dude, you okay bro?" Sonic starts once more as Knuckles straighten up. "You hung on very tightly there. Not to mention, you'd supported like all of us on your own."

"You don't need to worry about me," Knuckles says as he brushes away the dust from his arms. He looks up at him, smirking. "As long as the Master Emerald exists, I am alive." Then he walks away like nothing previously happened.

.

_A pair of figure suddenly appeared out of thin air. The silver figure gasps while the purple one trembles as they look around their surroundings._

"_We're too late," Silver whispers more to himself than to Blaze at his side._

_"You're not too late."_

_The pair turns towards the source of the voice, battle-ready. They relax when they find out it's none other than Knuckles walking towards them. They take notice at his scuffed look along with a few visible cuts there and here, but overall he looks okay, unbothered even._

_"What happened?" Blaze demands._

_"Enemy happened," Knuckles replies instantly and points beyond them. They follow his point. Nothing is out of the ordinary, just that all the buildings around them are crumbling. Suddenly, large chunks of fallen apartment begin to move. It explodes, sending debris everywhere, revealing a displeased looking enemy._

"_You are displeasing me, Failed Guardian," the enemy comments, cracking his neck. "I am starting to get tired." Despite his words, he leisurely walks towards them. The trio drops into their battle stance._

"_There's no time for me to explain!" Knuckles suddenly yells as he steps in front of Silver and Blaze. "Get people to safety as fast as possible! Get them off the continent if possible!"_

"_What about the enemy?" Silver asks, looking at the echidna's broad back._

"_I'll handle him."_

"_Are you sure?"_

"_I am."_

"_Okay…"_

"_Go!" Knuckles commands. Silver hesitates before flies off, his telekinetic power already activated._

"_Blaze…" The pink cat pauses in her track and turns toward Knuckles. She is taken aback at the gentle smile on his face as he looks at her over his shoulder. "It's an honor… to meet a kindred spirit."_

_Without any more words, Knuckles faces forward and charges full speed at the enemy, who mirrors his action. Blaze watches as their fists connected, creating a shockwave that is strong enough to crumble a building._

_The way Knuckles said those words… It's not sitting well with her._

_She shakes her head and berates to herself for being distracted. She has people she needs to save and trust Knuckles on taking care of the enemy._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_He waits. The fire crackles at his side. An electric pole creaks before it falls. He hears the pitter patter of people running to safety. He ignores them. He's waiting for one thing._

_He waits for the red echidna to show up. When Knuckles' disappearance prolongs, he starts counting from one to ten._

"_One, two, three…" He sees a trio in the distance, guiding a crowd away from him. The trio is as bright as yellow, blue and pink. He focuses on them and concludes Knuckles is not with them. He sighs in disappointment. He'll deal with them once he is done with Knuckles._

"…_four, five, six…" He spots another trio, this time they are yellow, green and pink. Their crowd is smaller, but more organized._

"…_seven, eight, nine…" He hears rumbles and a building suddenly crashes down over him. It barely touches him, but being surrounded by debris is quite cumbersome, so he blasts them away. He half expects spiked knuckles coming in his way. Sadly, Knuckles is still missing._

"_Ten." He snorts in disdain. "Pathetic." He turns his attention to his surroundings. Now that he can focus, he stares in admiration of his work, surrounded by collapsing building, crackling of fire and screams of horror. The sky is lighted with flames, all from his work. He closes his eyes and spreads his arms, basking in the glory and destruction._

_This power is… amazing. Chaos. Destruction. It is what his vision as foretold._

_Energy balls starts to form in his hands, slowly growing in size and power. Once they are at the size of a soccer ball, they are almost as bright as the moon. He turns his wrists to face his palms outwards._

_But before he could set them off, a spiked fist had successfully landed on his cheek. The energy balls dissipate from his hands as he flies back from the punch. He manages to stop himself from tumbling on the ground. He twists and looks up at the intruder and narrows his eyes._

"_Your opponent is me, enemy!" The red echidna points his spiked fist at him, periwinkle eyes shine bright against the fire surrounding him._

.

Knuckles suddenly stops walking. The group looks back when they realize he's not with them. He has a shocked look on his face.

"Yo Knucklehead! You doing okay?" Sonic shouts. That seems to snap the echidna from his trace. He blinks and then looks up at the sky to his side. They all follow his gaze, only to meet nothing but clouds.

"Is something wrong?" Amy asks. Knuckles narrows his eyes.

"That anteater's on Angel Island again," he says, almost growling. Most of the group raises an eyebrow.

"How can you tell?" Shadow asks suspiciously, opening his mouth for the first time since they grouped up. Knuckles didn't tear his gaze away from the sky.

"Angel Island is essentially an extension of the Master Emerald. I am linked, connected to the Master Emerald. Everything that is happening on Angel Island, I could feel it."

"Well, that would explain how you would always know we arrived on the island," Tails comments under his breath. Sonic furrows his eyebrows.

"What do you mean you're connected to the Master Emerald?"

"None of your business. It's a guardian thing." Sonic grumbles and mumbles something under his breath. The group falls into silent, looking at Knuckles expectedly as he gazes up at the sky at the direction where Angel Island might be at.

"How's it going?" Amy asks after feeling a little awkward with the silence. Knuckles narrow his eyes.

"Espio's down," he answers. The group turns serious.

"Should we go there?" Tails suggests. Knowing Knuckles, he would without a doubt tear his way to the floating island. How he managed to get on the island is anyone's wild guess but Tails guesses it's got something with the Master Emerald.

Surprisingly Knuckles shakes his head. There is much lesser tension on his shoulders as he releases a breath.

"No need. Vector and Charmy got it handled. The anteater is off the island, though I doubt he's going to give up that easily." He flicks his dreads over his shoulder and turns toward them. "We should continue; that anteater is not the only one giving up. Eggman's still needs a lesson to teach."

Everyone nods their head.

.

Knuckles sighs in content, feeling relieved now that he is back on his floating island. Eggman has been taken care of, for now. The man escaped but with his tail between his legs.

He walks through the forest in the direction of the shrine and the Master Emerald. Suddenly, he narrows his eyes and stops in his tracks. The forest is a little too quiet for his liking.

He immediately leans back as a small thing buzzes past him, right where his head had just be. He plants his feet to the ground and braces as rows of deadly teeth coming down upon him. He dodges at the last second and manages to grab onto the green jaw and snaps it shut.

"Vector, it's me." The green croc widens his eyes when he realizes who he is up against.

"Knux!" he exclaims as soon as Knuckles releases his jaw. "Thank goodness you're here!"

"Knux?" Charmy peeks from the canopy before hovering down towards them. "Knuckles! It's you!" Knuckles and Vector shares a firm handshake before bumping fists with Charmy.

"Sorry for attacking you. We thought you're an intruder there for a sec," Vector apologies, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"No need for an apology. That's just mean you're doing your job really well." Vector and Charmy smile at the compliment. "How's Espio?"

"He's passed out. A blue anteater was here, trying to take the Master Emerald," Charmy explains, his hover becomes uneven. Knuckles realizes they looked a little ragged. Knuckles finally sees the large cut right between the croc's eyes.

"He did quite a number on us. Espio took the brute of them all," the green croc adds. Knuckles quickly marches over to the temple where he knows Espio is at and jogs up the stairs when he arrived.

At the top, he sees Espio sitting up, and his state is much worse than the other two.

"Espio! You're up!" Charmy exclaims as he and Vector rushes to Espio's side.

"Take it easy man; you're in worse state than us."

"I'm fine," Espio reassures but he is panting and wincing. "Knuckles," he calls out. The echidna kneels beside him. "That anteater," Espio starts with his voice low and trembling probably from the pain. "There is something about him that does not sit well with me."

"I know," Knuckles replies, one hand on his shoulder. "I could feel the evil vibes he's emitting the first time he came."

"He's here before?" Vector asks in surprise. Charmy mirrors his expression. Knuckles nods.

"Not that too long ago, about a month." Knuckles inspects their injuries once more, especially Espio's. He narrows his eyes in suspicion. When he fought the anteater back then, he didn't face much difficulty; in fact, he was overpowering the anteater.

The Chaotix is a formidable group to face against; he recognizes their skills and teamwork when he was a Chaotix member back then. That is why he entrusted them with Angel Island and the Master Emerald; they could take care of it really well.

Seeing them this ragged and injured from an enemy who he had faced quite recently, it does not sit well with him. He glances at the Master Emerald and frowns.

"Beside the anteater, have you notice anything different on the island?" He inquires as nonchalantly as possible. The trio looks at each other for a moment.

"No, not that I can think of," Espio responds while Vector shrugs.

"Actually, there is one thing," Charmy pipes up. "It's regarding the anteater. When he stood in front of the Master Emerald, he was speaking a weird language."

Knuckles' frown deepens.

"You three go home and tend your wounds first. I'll send you the ruby gems later." They nod, but not without giving him a concerning look at the abrupt ending of the conversation. Vector picks Espio up since he is too weak to walk on his own. The trio makes their way to a plane that sits right next to the shrine.

Knuckles watches them go, making sure that they fly away from his island safely. Once he is assured, he returns back to his shrine. He checks the Master Emerald, relieved that it is unscratched. Then, he sits down in front of it.

The anteater had returned much sooner than he expected, and he could come again when he least expects it.

His wariness of the anteater increases by another fold. He is keeping his guard up and be extra careful. He doesn't know it for now, but from what Charmy had told him just now, he is afraid if it is true.

If the anteater does know the ancient language, it could mean a seriously bad business.

.

_Shadow grunts as he uses his body strength to pick up fallen debris. It's not too big, but big enough to push him to his limit._

"_Go!" he yells. A few people hastily crawl under the lifted debris and Shadow lets go once he is sure everyone is out and not trapped. "Go there! A white bat will guide you!" He points at a certain direction, where Rouge is at. The people nod, thanking him endlessly before rush off. Shadow sighs in tiredness._

_He hears something skidding. Turning towards the source, he watches as Knuckles loses his balance and starts skipping along the ground before stopping right beside him._

"_Hey, Shadow," the echidna greets nonchalantly. "How's the rescue going?" Shadow sniffs in disdain._

"_Why am I even listening to you?" Shadow asks the bloodied Echidna who swiftly stands back up despite his injuries. He wipes the blood from the corner of his mouth and smirks toothily._

"_Probably because I'm your friend." At that Shadow sneers in disgust while Knuckles chuckles. "Don't think you have no one, Hedgehog. There's always someone out there for you to return home when you are away."_

"_Yeah, like whom?" Shadow demands hotly, not believing him a single bit._

"_Of course, there's Rouge." The smirk on his face softens slightly. "That annoying jewel thief on wings and a constant pain in my butt is your best friend, though your ego won't admit it." He suddenly chuckles and shakes his head lightly. "Take good care of her. You're a better person for her than I am anyway."_

_Shadow can't help but notices the soft look on Knuckles' face._

"_You should spend a little time with little Cream." Shadow looks at him like it's the most ridiculous thing he had ever said (to Shadow, it is). Knuckles glances at him, the smirk is back with full force. "She's been wanting to see you smile, dying to get your attention, wishing to be your friend."_

_Shadow's eyes widen slightly at the sudden information. Knuckles chuckles once more. He shakes his head, his dreadlocks fly around before settling back. He steps forward, towards the fidgeting rubbles distance away. He suddenly stops in his track._

_"Don't worry, Shadow…" The black Hedgehog returns his attention back at him and frowns in confusion. Knuckles didn't turn back, keeping his full attention on the rising Enemy._

_"…I'll send her your regards… when I get there." Then he dashes off, making a beeline for the enemy with a loud battle cry. What does he mean by that? Out of nowhere, his mind suddenly wanders back to Ma-_

_"Yo, Shads! We need some help here!" The black Hedgehog snaps from his thought as he reluctantly joins Sonic._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_He dodges the spiked fist easily. He grabs Knuckles' face and slams his head to the ground. He throws him in the air and then kicks him, sending him skipping across the ground. Knuckles recovers quickly and rushes over to him, throwing the same punch._

"_When will you learn, Failed Guardian?" he asks, grabbing the fist before it could land on him. He pulls the echidna closer and lands a punch on his abdomen. He lets go and Knuckles kneels on the ground. "You will never win. The future is chaos."_

"_I will not let you," he hears Knuckles wheezes. He grabs his head and pulls his face up. The echidna growls to his face. He rumbles in respond._

"_Your view is short-sighted, Failed Guardian. It is shame that you, the one and only guardian, could not see what it had been thirsting for."_

"_You're missing the point," Knuckles hisses. "I am made, birthed, to not be swayed by its words. I am made to guard it from the world."_

"_Too bad." He picks the echidna up and throws him into a crumbling building. He brushes his hands together, ridding the filth. "Now then, moving on to the others." He turns around, scanning before him for his next victim. Before he notices anyone, a chunk of a building flies to him. It disintegrates before it could touch him. He turns towards the thrower and narrows his eyes._

_"I'm not done yet, enemy!"_

.

"Thanks for letting us having a picnic on your island, Knuckles," Amy smiles at the echidna who is lying on his back on the grass.

"Don't mind about it," he replies back, nonchalantly turning his head away.

"Is it me or is it a little quieter here than before?" Tails asks between munches on his sandwich.

"It's not just you. Most of the wildlife is a little bit further than here now."

"Is there a reason why?"

Knuckles choose not to answer.

"Aren't you a little bit cautious of releasing Chaos again?" Amy asks in concern. Knuckles glances at her, seeing her looking at the Master Emerald with concerning eyes.

"Nah, it won't happen, unless it wants to," he answers as nonchalantly as possible. Amy and the other two now give him a confused look.

"So Chaos could come out at any time it wants?" Tails says, looking very worried at the prospect of Chaos' release. Knuckles shakes his head.

"No, not Chaos. It's the Master Emerald's decision." Now, their confused look doubles.

"What do you mean?" Knuckles sighs and sits up.

"When Dr. Eggman shattered the Master Emerald a while ago, the deliverance of Chaos shouldn't happen. It's not his choice to release it. No matter how much he tries, he will not succeed. The only way for Chaos to be delivered is decided by the Master Emerald itself."

"You make it sound like the Master Emerald is alive."

"The Master Emerald is not just alive, but also not just NOT alive." A silence is followed by his sentence as the trio processes his words.

"Uhh… Alive but also not… not alive?" Amy starts hesitantly, looking much more confused than she is before. Sonic and Tails are the same.

"I think I lost a few brain cells here," Sonic comments. Knuckles sighs again in exasperation.

"To put it into simpler words, it is a non-living thing that is alive, an object with consciousness." When the looks on their faces don't change, he sighs. "It's sentient, basically." Now their lips form into a perfect in realization now that they got the idea.

"You could've just told us that in the beginning, dude," Sonic comments, giving him a dirty look. "You could've saved us a few brain cells."

Knuckles merely grumbles in respond and lies back down. He glances at the Master Emerald as the trio now mingles with each other. He narrows his eyes as his mind wanders back Chaos' release.

The Master Emerald has been acting weird since. Nearby wildlife has rarely visiting the shrine, and they act very skittish whenever they are near it. He's starting to feel wary. And the anteater… He's increasing more wary since his visit. He may look relaxed as he lies down on the grass crossing his arms behind his head, but he is far from it.

That anteater could arrive anytime soon, and he'll be stronger than before, judging from the Chaotix's injuries.

.

_Silver hears a loud boom. He looks up and sees Knuckles flies back, possibly from a heavy hit from the enemy. He quickly reacts. He rushes over where Knuckles would land. Using his telekinetic power, he manages to save the echidna from slamming into the ground._

"_Knuckles!" He gently lowers Knuckles onto the ground. The echidna has gotten more bruises and bigger cuts all over his body. Silver clenches his fists. He starts scanning the area for the enemy._

"_Where is that enemy!? It's my turn now!" He feels a hand grabbing onto his forearm. He turns towards Knuckles who uses his arm to pull himself up to stand. "Knuckles-"_

"_Don't bother with the enemy. I can handle him alone," Knuckles tells him. "You worry about the people and their safety."_

"_But Knuckles, you had been fighting him nonstop!"_

"_I know."_

"_Why?" Silver demands, not really getting what makes Knuckles this stubborn to the point of risking his life. Well, Knuckles is naturally stubborn, but never to the point of putting his life in danger. "Others are worrying over you. You refused their help and fight the enemy yourself. Why?"_

"_This is my responsibility, an action of my own doing," Knuckles says, glancing at him. Then, he starts walking away from Silver. The hedgehog couldn't help but notices the slight limp in his steps._

"_Knuckles-"_

"_Don't bother," Knuckles cuts him off. "He is MY enemy. I can handle him. I am made to handle him."_

_They hear an explosion not too far away from them._

"_Find any trapped people under debris and get them to safety," the echidna commands, quickening his steps before suddenly stops. "Silver… Take care of the future." Suddenly, he takes off and no longer limping, or ignoring the limping._

_Silver runs off in the opposite direction, feeling confused at Knuckles' last sentence._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_He punches the echidna in the face, sending him flying back and into a standing building. He holds out a hand, palm facing outward. A spherical energy ball forms before it shoots out into a beam directly at where Knuckles had flew at. The building weakens and collapses onto itself._

_He releases a sigh. He knows without a doubt that it should be enough to deal with the echidna. He has to say, Knuckles had lasted far longer than he expects. He is a little bit impressed at the echidna's endurance. Well, now he is no more._

"_Now then." He turns away from the rubbles. He scans the area, feeling prideful at the destruction he had caused, from his small testing at the beginning and his battle with Knuckles. He-_

_He hears rumbles behind him. He turns around sharply and stares in disbelieve._

_A hand appears from the many rubbles, and Knuckles emerges. He has a pipe embedded in his left upper arm. Half of his body is redder but the brightness in his eyes didn't falter a single bit._

_"I'm not done yet, enemy."_

_He grabs the pipe with his right hand and quickly pulls it out, sending out spurts of blood. He drops it to the ground and, with a battle cry, dashes forward with both of his fists drawn._

.

Knuckles opens his eyes as soon as a pair of feet lands right in front of the temple. He uncrosses his arms and tightly clenches his fists.

"I didn't know anteaters can fly these days," he remarks as the mechanical wings folds and hides behind the Anteater's back. "Though that would explain how you managed to up here both times."

"You don't know what kind of power you're holding, guardian," the anteater says emotionlessly.

"Oh I DO know," he replies instantly. "That is why I'm guarding it from the world. Though right now, I'm guarding it from YOU."

"You cannot hold me back forever."

"There's a reason WHY I am called the guardian, and I intent to live up to the title."

The anteater raises his fists and drops into a battle stance. A mechanical whirling is heard. The machine on his back extends and envelops his fists. His claws are now three times bigger, and they look much sharper and deadlier.

"Let's see how you handle this, echidna."

The anteater strikes first. He dashes forward with both claws facing Knuckles. The echidna dodges left and quickly moves in for a strike. He goes for an uppercut but the anteater quickly blocks it with his mechanical claws. He notices he did barely a scratch on them.

"You improved," he compliments. The anteater knocks him away and he skids backward to a stop.

"I'll take you out, and then I'll have the Master Emerald." The anteater spreads his arms dramatically. Knuckles narrows his eyes, not liking the way the anteater says the Master Emerald.

"You sound like you know quite a lot of the Master Emerald." The anteater grins widely, showing his rows of teeth.

"Oh I do: Chaos, 7 Emeralds, Ultra form, All of One."

His hair stands on end just by hearing it. He growls and readies himself into a battle stance.

The Anteater must not get his hands on the Master Emerald.

"How do you know that!? No other living beings should know such information!" Knuckles demands. The anteater chuckles and tilts his head to the side.

"You remember when Chaos was unleashed?" Knuckles winces, fully remembers that moment when the Master Emerald shattered. The anteater then points at a sizable scar on the side of his neck. "A shard of the Master Emerald had graced my flesh, and I have these… visions of indescribable future," he says with infinite awe.

Knuckles curses. This is not looking good.

"I am… prophesized to continue the legacy of what Chaos left behind," the enemy anteater continues. "The Master Emerald is hungry. It craves for chaos and destruction, longing for a world complete burned down to the ground." He hums in satisfaction as he places both fists on his chest. "You see, oh guardian. The Master Emerald had spoken to me, chose me to be the next chaos bringer."

"I will not let you get any closer to it," Knuckles growls menacingly. The anteater laughs maniacally in respond.

"You can't stop me forever, guardian!" He swings his claws to his side, grinning widely. Knuckles finally sees the crazed look on the anteater's face. "I am destined to be one with the Master Emerald!"

Without another word, Knuckles jumps forward and throws a punch. The anteater confidently holds up a mechanical claw. His face suddenly twists into shock when the claw crackles on impact.

"What the…?" Knuckles uses this moment to break open his defense and lands a strike on the anteater's face. He jumps back forward as the anteater cries in pain, holding his bruising face.

"Leave, and I'll spare your life." Knuckles points one clenched fist at the Anteater.

"That Master Emerald and I will be one," the anteater growls back. He roars a battle cry as he dashes forward, claws ready at his side. Knuckles jumps when he strikes and manages to snag the anteater's snout. He uses the momentum to slam the enemy's face into the ground before flinging him into the air with full force.

He hears a mechanical whirls and watches as the mechanical claws transform into a pair of wings. The anteater spins before leveling out in the air.

"I will get that Master Emerald, guardian! Mark my words!" the anteater shouts as he flies away in retreat. Knuckles rumbles in displeasure, tempting to chase after the anteater but chooses not to.

He quickly hurries back to the shrine. He slows down to a stop right in front of the Master Emerald. There is no scratch on it, but that is not his main concern.

The Master Emerald had reached out past him and made contact with a fanatic believer, someone who promises chaos in the name of it. He's starting to question his role as the Guardian. He had been guarding the Master Emerald from the world his whole life.

What if it's actually the other way around?

He feels a foreign pressure behind his eyes, making him feels alarmed and uneasy. It's a new sensation, a seduction from the Master Emerald. He could feel it, he knows it. For the first time, it is speaking to him.

And it asks for chaos.

He closes his eyes and shakes his head to disperse the pressure, silently wishing for it to cease the contact. Once he is sure it stops, he opens his eyes and gazes at his reflection on the Master Emerald.

"Tikal, what is going on in there?"

If she did hear his plea, she did not answer.

.

_They hear a boom not far from them. A shockwave knocks them off balance, causing some of the rescued citizens to scream in fear and horror. Espio, Vector and Charmy try to calm down the crowd as they flock to safety. The trio hears something is skipping across the ground, approaching them at fast rate. They turn and Vector reacts quickly enough to catch Knuckles. _

"_Knux!" The echidna is bleeding and he is panting heavily. "You're thinking this irrationally, man!"_

"_I know I'm not," Knuckles replies, pushing himself off of Vector and stands wobbly. "But this is my responsibility. The chaos he caused and will cause is on my shoulders for me to bear."_

"_That's just a pile of dung!"_

"_Not to a guardian." Knuckles begins to walk away from them. "I failed, now I have to act upon it. Please, let me handle this while you keep the people safe. And Espio, Vector, Charmy…" He pauses in his walk and turns around to face them "Thank you for looking after the Master Emerald when I am not around… and I'm proud of all of you." For the first time, he gives them a warm smile. He turns back forward and limps away to definitely where the enemy is at._

_Vector takes a step forward, reaching for the echidna, but a hand on his arm stops him. He looks at Espio who shakes his head, but the way his hand shaking reveals that he also wants to reach out._

_With heavy heart, they turn around and walk away. Somehow, they feel like they are abandoning Knuckles behind._

…_Or that Knuckles is abandoning them._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_He blast away the rubbles that are piling on top of him. He floats and stands up. He bares his teeth at the figure before him, still standing, still facing him, still fighting._

_He doesn't know how long they had been fighting. He lost track of time, and it displeases him. No matter how much he had thrown him, punch him, kick him, even blasting an energy beam at him, the echidna keeps on standing and keeps on fighting him._

_"Now I'm starting to see why they call you "The Mountain", Failed Guardian."_

.

Knuckles blows gently on the steaming cup in his hand, cooling the tea down to bearable degree. He tries to ignore Sonic's yapping behind him, or Tail's mumbles as he fiddles around with his technological toys, or Amy's laughter as she watches the television.

They had just finished a fight with a few of Dr. Eggman's goons. Now, they are relaxing in Sonic's home. He wonders why he's even in this place. It's totally the opposite of peace, it's loud and mildly annoying and Sonic is there.

But… these are his closest friends. He cherishes every moment he spent his time with them, no matter how much annoyance they had caused him.

His entire body shakes and he snaps his eyes open. The ceramic cup in his hand shatters, causing everyone in the room to jump. The red echidna stands up and scowls up at the ceiling, accompanied with a deep growl.

"No," he hisses. His fists clench very tightly.

"Knuckles, what's wrong!?"

"The Master Emerald." He narrows his eyes in concentration. "Eggman, and he's not alone. The anteater's with him." He turns and marches to the door, almost ripping it off from its hinges. "The fight earlier was a distraction. He's after the Master Emerald this whole time. We need to move, NOW!"

.

"Knuckles! Where are we heading!?" Tails shouts through the wind to Knuckles, who crouches on one of his wings.

"Where the Master Emerald is at!" he shouts back. Knuckles had just point at a direction and demands to go in said direction. So far, they're only flying over the ocean in thirty-five degree angle for fifteen minutes now and hadn't seen anything.

"Are you sure you're right with your direction, knucklehead? You didn't hit your head, aren't you?" Sonic asks. Knuckles didn't answer. Instead, as they pass through a cloud, they are greeted by a giant flying ship. It is without a doubt belongs to Eggman.

"It's in there somewhere." Tails flies them over the ship and Knuckles suddenly jumps off.

"Wait, Knuckles!" they shouts but Knuckles lands unharmed, created a crack on the floor in his wake. They didn't follow his example, merely land on the deck at a safe height while Knuckles starts tearing apart the bots.

"It's over here!" They quickly follow, taking down any bot in their way while Knuckles had torn them a path. They arrived at a pair massive doors closed tightly shut.

"I can hack this door open! Just cover me-" Tails cuts himself off when Knuckles sinks his hands between the doors and, with a grunt, he pushes them apart, creating ear-splitting creaks and electrical crackles. Without even breaking a sweat, he cracks the doors open.

"Go!" he yells and they comply. Once the three are inside, he jumps in and the doors close shut behind him. "Come on, let's go!" he commands and runs further inside as if he didn't just push multi-ton door apart.

"Hey, Knuckles," Amy calls out as they keep running. "You seem a little... distressed... and wilder than before."

They realize this just earlier when Knuckles had singlehandedly tore down half of the bots on the deck, and that happened before they even land. Not to mention the whole door thing.

"That anteater knows about the Master Emerald more than he should, more than anyone should. He is the number one threat to the Master Emerald. He MUST not get his hand on it no matter what the cause."

The group sees a closed door. Knuckles runs forward with knuckles in front of him. With a yell, he punches the door, tearing it off from the hinges. The quartet immediately readies themselves for whatever resistance Eggman had put up.

Surprisingly, they find a beat up Eggman on the floor. Then, they look up at where the Master Emerald resides, with the anteater standing before it.

"No…"

The anteater is standing right before the Master Emerald as it floats before him. He gazes at it with wide hungry eyes. He spreads his arms apart and grins gleefully.

_"Wahai Zamrud Hijau!"_ The ship suddenly shakes violently, causing the trio to stumble off balance.

"Knuckles, what is going on!?" Sonic shouts.

"He uses an ancient language to speak with the Master Emerald! And it responds back!" Knuckles answers, trying to approach the anteater and the Master Emerald but the ship keeps violently shaking and throwing him off balance. The anteater now laughs maniacally.

_"Hamba menghadapi anda sebagai seorang yang kagum kepada kekuasaan engkau yang maha sungguh indah dan luar biasa! Dengarlah kata-kata hamba dan perhatikanlah panggilan hamba!"_

_"Tidak!"_ Knuckles manages to intervene, still attempting to balance on his feet. _"Janganlah anda mendengari perkata-kataannya, wahai Zamrud Hijau! Dia mempunyai minda yang tidak suci! Anda dan dia tidak padan walaubagaimanapun!"_

_"Marilah kepada hamba, wahai Zamrud Hijau! Hamba telah dengar tangisan anda! Hamba akan menyebabkan kiamat, seperti anda ditakdirkan!"_

The shaking of the ship increases more violently.

"NO!"

The Master Emerald suddenly moves closer to the anteater, shrinking in size. The anteater laughs and opens his arms wide apart. The shrunken Master Emerald then absorbed into his chest. Instantly, the anteater suddenly engulfed in bright green lights. Everyone looks away, shielding their eyes from the blinding light.

When the light finally disappeared, the anteater has changed form, bigger than he was before. His fur has black streaks and reacts as if he's submerged underwater. His claws are longer, sharper. Two fangs are protruding from his mouth. He looks more menacing, scarier, stronger.

The aura he emits sends chills down their spines.

"I feel… complete." His voice is different, like everyone in the world spoke with him, yet passes their ears like a breeze. "I… am… all. I am… All of One." He then lifts a finger and then gently places it on the floor at his feet.

A loud explosion occurs and the ship suddenly tears in half. With the ground beneath them disappeared, they are plummeting into a city at alarming rate. Tails immediately grabs Amy while Knuckles grabs Sonic.

They glide over to a tall building and stumble on top of it. At a distance, the anteater hovers over the city, causing havoc throughout the city.

He raises a hand before waves it down quickly, and a giant crater form right below him. They hear the citizens cries as buildings collapse.

"This… Is… Wonderful." He spreads his arms apart and throws his head back as if basking in the sun.

.

_"You've been holding yourself back, Knuckie." The Echidna smirks lightly, giving Rouge a soft glance._

_"I don't want to hurt you too bad, Batgirl."_

_"But you hurt my feelings, for holding yourself back. Here I thought we were evenly matched."_

_Although Rouge is giving him a pout and being the seductive bat she is, she is very worried for Knuckles. The echidna chuckles lightly, spurting out blood as he staggers passes her, but she grabs his arm before he passed, stopping him from his advance._

_"Please stop this, Knuckles." Her hand is trembling, almost strong enough to cause his arm to join along._

_"I have to, Rouge." He grabs the hand that holds his arm and squeezes. "If I don't stop him, there is nothing else left but chaos and destruction."_

_"We could help you."_

_"This is my responsibility for me to handle alone. This is my fight." Finally, he pulls her hand from his arm. He turns slightly and gives her a kind smile. Rouge feels her lips tremble._

_That is probably the first time he ever gives her such smile._

_"Where are you, Failed Guardian!?"_

_He turns away from her and clenches his fists, bloodied and trembling but still full of strength. He starts advancing where the enemy's voice is at. Then he suddenly stops._

_"Rouge," he calls out and the white bat looks at him expectantly. "…I love you."_

_Rouge lost her breath as Knuckles dashes forward, leaving her behind. She couldn't hear the battle cries, or the booms of the battle; she could only hear the three words repeating in her head._

_And not in a good way._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Knuckles!"

Knuckles looks up at the sources and sees a trio glides down. It's the Chaotix, and they look very apologetic.

"We're sorry we couldn't protect the Master Emerald."

"Eggman had shot sleeping gas at us."

"No need to be sorry," Knuckles reassured them. "It can't be help. For now, we need to focus on what's in front of us." He got interrupted by the anteater's slow laugh. Everyone quickly readies into a battle stance. Despite the great distance between him and them, it sounds like his voice is coming from everywhere.

"Look at this majesty." The anteater holds his hands in front of him, admiring them. "You see, oh Failed Guardian, you see how majestic the power you had been keeping." He points a finger directly where Knuckles and the others are at. Seeing this, Knuckles immediately reacts.

"EVERYONE GET OFF!" He grabs the terrified Amy and jumps off the building and everyone else follows him. As soon as everyone was off, the top half of the building they were once stood on immediately explodes. Knuckles lands on his feet and quickly looks around. He sighs in relief everyone made it off.

"Knuckles!" Someone is calling him. Turning towards the source, another trio is approaching him.

"Rouge!" The bat lands closer to him than usual while Shadows screeches to a stop. "Are you okay? Where's Omega?"

"I'm fine, Omega's decommissioned. Are you o-"

"Sonic, what the hell is going on here!?" Shadow demands as he advances towards the blue hedgehog, cutting Rouge off mid-sentence. "And what is that thing!?"

"I don't know man! I'm as clueless as you are!" Hissing in displeasure at the answer, Shadow turns towards Knuckles.

"Echidna! You know what's going on here!?"

"I do," Knuckles replies, glancing at the black hedgehog before pointing a finger at the anteater floating over the chaotic city. "That is the anteater I had been warning about who had been after the Master Emerald recently. And the aftermath is the reason why the Master Emerald is to be kept from the world."

The anteater is slowly descending from midair, spinning slowly as he did so, still basking in his destruction.

"How did he do this?"

"The Master Emerald's true potential, true power, "All of One". He didn't JUST absorb the Master Emerald and BECAME the Master Emerald," Knuckles says almost angrily through his teeth, staring at the enemy with his fists clench tightly. Everyone stares at him in confusion.

"He became a greater Chaos."

The anteater chuckles. He stops right above the crater and crosses his arms.

"Your pathetic attempts will be futile, but I am willing to humor you. So, I shall give you time to prepare. Tik tok."

"Let's see how he handles Super Sonic!"

"No!" Knuckles stops the blue hedgehog before he could take off. "You don't know how powerful he is now! If you think Chaos is bad, then he is even WORSE."

Sonic ignores what Knuckles, transforming himself into Super Sonic. At the transformation, Knuckles grits his teeth and balls his right hand into a fist.

When Super Sonic is about to fly pass him, Knuckles swings his fist and connects it to Sonic's cheek. Instantly, the golden glow disappeared and seven Chaos Emeralds fly out from Sonic's figure a few feet away, with Sonic himself on the ground amongst them.

Everyone stares at the downed Sonic. Knuckles had just PUNCH Sonic out of his Super form.

"I forgot you could do that," Sonic mutters as he rubbed his bruised cheek, remembering back the moment they first ever met.

"You may be able to do numbers on him in your Super form. But all of us know it's not infinite power; your Super form won't last long and once that runs out, you're incredibly vulnerable. Even if you and Shadow combined together, it won't be enough."

"Then let's fight him all together!"

"NO!" Everyone's is taken back at Knuckles' sudden roar. He looks at them with sharp periwinkle eyes. "None of you will last long enough to defeat him, even if you combined all your powers together."

"Then what's your suggestion, then?"

"You need to evacuate everyone off the COUNTRY as fast as possible. Get as many help as possible." The way he said "you" makes them concern a bit.

"What about the enemy? He'll catch up to them easily."

"I will try holding him back."

"ARE YOU CRAZY!? THAT'S SUICIDAL!"

"I am the Guardian of the Master Emerald. I know almost everything about it, including its power and the power it gives. It may be powerful but it is not limitless." He turns his attention back to the anteater. "This is my responsibility for this to happen."

"But you just said it yourself; none of us will last long enough to defeat him."

"I am the Guardian of the Master Emerald. I know almost everything about it, including its power and the power it gives," he repeats a bit softer this time. "I am made to guard it from the world, now the world from it."

"Are you sure you have enough power to hold him back? Shadow and I could help you."

"I'm not going to risk my friends over things I responsible with." Then he smirks at them. "And you don't know how long I can truly last."

"Your time is up," the anteater's haunting voice rings and he starts to approach them. Everyone immediately gets into their battle stance.

"GO! Evacuate everyone off the country, off the CONTINENT if possible. Don't stop working until you're running out of energy."

"But… Knuckles."

"GO! Do your thing, and don't ever, EVER, bother with Enemy. Your main priority is evacuating everyone. Leave no stone unturned until EVERYONE is out." But they stay at his side, determined to fight alongside him. "For once in your life COULD ALL OF YOU PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!?" Knuckles glares angrily at them.

They are taken back by his glare, probably the angriest glare he had ever given to them.

"This is MY fight with him, and I will not risking anyone by joining me, understand!?"

The approaching figure gains Knuckles' attention. He prepares himself for a first strike while everyone else stares at his back.

"GO!" he yells at the top of his lungs without turning around. They hesitate to leave, but begin to fly off to do what he said.

"You better not be dead, Knucklehead," Sonic says through his teeth before dashes away. Knuckles smirks widely, with a touch of sadness.

"That's a promise I cannot keep."

"Only you alone, Failed Guardian?"

"Only me alone, corrupted enemy."

Without any other words, Knuckles screams a battle cry and charges towards the enemy. He jumps, pulling one fist back and strikes. The enemy easily blocks it with one hand.

"All your attempts will be futile," the enemy says towards, smirking a bit. "But I'm willing to humor them, yours is the one I am looking forward to, Failed Guardian." He successfully lands an uppercut, causing the echidna to fly back and skids along the ground.

Knuckles didn't waste any time. As soon as he stands he immediately rushes forward to the enemy. He leaps, both arms pull back with knuckles ready.

He strikes, but the enemy is quicker. He ducks under the knuckles and swipes the echidna's legs. Knuckles grunts in pain and the enemy grabs his jaws.

"I can do this all day," the enemy tells him as he dangles the echidna at arm's length. Knuckles grasps the hand that holds him above the ground. With a sudden action, he twists the wrist with a tight grip, enough to release him. He kicks the enemy's chest, creating a distance between. Both plants their feet to the ground to skid to a stop.

"So can I."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"I always thought that everyone has goodness in them, no matter whom or what they are, and that includes Eggman himself."

Knuckles deflects the fist that aims for his face. He retaliates with a kick and it connects with the enemy's shin. The anteater stumbles and Knuckles throws a jab at the back of his head, but the enemy is quicker and dodges.

The anteater floats to the air, his arms spreading apart. Two energy balls start to form at his palms before he aims them at Knuckles. Quickly crosses his arms to block the blast. His feet slides back against the ground from the sheer force of the blast. He could feel the burn on his arms but he continues to prevail.

"I always think that he might change one day, to be a good person and no longer evil doctor he is."

The enemy stops, and Knuckles uses this time to retaliate. He slams the ground with both fists, shattering it into large chunks. He grabs a large one and throws it at the enemy. He quickly jumps right behind the thrown chunk. The anteater slices the chunk in half and he looks surprised when he sees Knuckles right close to him. Knuckles takes this moment to land a strike on his face.

The anteater bares his teeth in anger and frustration. He grabs the falling Knuckles by the head before diving straight to the ground and slams his head into it. He picks up the echidna and balls a hand into a fist. Knuckles manages to block the hit on his abdomen and twists his way out from the anteater's grasp.

"But you… all I see inside you are darkness and corruption."

As soon as he lands on the ground, he quickly backflips away from the enemy's ground pound. He skids to a stop and rushes forward. He pulls back a fist and strikes, but the anteater grabs it before it could land. Now the anteater pulls back a fist and strikes, but Knuckles manages to grab it before it could land on him. However, the punch had created a shockwave that startles him but manages to hold on.

They both pull their heads back before slamming forward and into each other. They stumble back, releasing each other's fists. Knuckles looks up just in time for the anteater to shoot a ball of energy to him. He quickly crosses his arms to block the energy ball and gasps when it hits. He grunts in exertion and manages to deflect the energy ball away, causing an explosion in the distance.

"And my greatest mistake was letting you live, TWICE. Now, you've caused pain, horror and destruction."

He pants and staggers, but he stubbornly plants both feet to the ground and keeps himself upright. He watches as the enemy gathers another energy ball. He grits his teeth and spits blood to the ground beside him. He points a spiked fist at the anteater while the other one hangs limply at his side.

The anteater throws the ball at him. Knuckles dashes forward and twists away from the energy ball, dodging it. He shouts a battle cry, pulling back his readied fist and aims for the face.

"That is why you must DIE!"

But the anteater is quicker. Before the fist could even land, the enemy reaches out grabs a hold of his neck, choking him. He dangles Knuckles off the ground, holding him up in the air. Knuckles grabs the wrist holding him up, trying to twist it to release him, but the enemy tightens his grip.

"You are stubborn, Failed Guardian," the anteater comments. "I had expected you to lay down a long while ago, but you just keep coming, and coming and _coming_. It _sickens_ me."

"I am… after all… the guardian," Knuckles wheezes out, still trying to release himself, but the anteater tightens his grip even more, choking the him.

"_You_ sicken me, oh Failed Guardian. You made me waste precious energy on such a lowly pest like you." Knuckles chuckles as much as he can with a hand around his neck.

"That's… the plan…" Knuckles grins at the enemy, displeasing him and in return squeezes even tighter.

"I find such thing as no funny business." The anteater gathers an energy ball in one hand. This time, it is bigger, brighter than the ones before. He places it right at the Knuckles' abdomen. "This should take care of you once and for all."

.

He releases the echidna and shoots his energy ball. The echidna flies back, with the energy ball pushing him back by the abdomen. He watches as the guardian goes limp, barely trying to get off from the energy ball. He and the energy ball crash into the only standing building. It explodes, thanks to his energy ball, before rubbles rain down and buries the echidna.

He waits, daring for the wretched echidna to emerge from the rubbles, like the many times he did. Somehow, he doesn't think it would not be enough to take down the guardian, and he feels quite ridiculous at his own thought.

He has the power of the _Master Emerald_. And he is _more_ than Chaos. He can destroy a giant ship with the tip of his finger. He can create a giant crater with just a wave of a hand. And, somehow, he is doubtful at his own power? Preposterous!

But he couldn't help it and feed to the thought. It was from his fight with the guardian that had caused the entire city to crumble and levelled around them. And the echidna had kept coming, and coming, and _coming_. And his hits, his punches and attacks, _hit_. It was incredibly annoying. The guardian just wouldn't know how to give up.

He feels time has passed quite long, and the echidna didn't emerge from the rubbles. But, just to make sure, he creates another energy ball in his palm. He throws it at where the echidna lies. He watches closely as the energy ball flies through the air to the intended target. It wouldn't hurt for just to be s-

"Chaos Control!"

A black figure appears out of thin air in front of the energy ball and kicks it away. He growls lowly, feeling much more displeased than before as his energy ball lands far away from its intended target, causing an explosion. He turns towards the defender and realizes there is now a group standing right in front where the guardian is buried. There are about eleven of them, and they all looked ragged, dusty, but more importantly, _angry_.

Three figures stand out in front of the group; blue, silver-ish and black. The black one is probably the one who deflect his energy ball. They are similar but mismatched. Despite feeling displeased, he hums in satisfaction.

"Finally, some new pests for me to exterminate, a welcoming change after the Failed Guardian." That sentence seems to trigger the group. Among the trio in front of the group, the blue one throws something into the air and then flying in circle around trio. He has to squint to get a clearer view. They're…

"Chaos Emeralds," he growls in disgust.

The trio is encased in bright light before it dissipates. What is left in its wake, the trio are now glowing golden and are floating. They hold their fists up, ready for battle. The group behind them steps forward, also ready for battle.

"Fine," he rumbles as he himself starts to float above the ground. "If it is a battle that you want, then I shall bring you apocalypse. I do hope you wouldn't end up like your oh so precious Failed Guardian, just because you have strength in numbers."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

They attack without any other words. The flying trio is taking the lead. He blocks the two fists aiming for his face, and kicks the third person away. His hands are shaking from the impact he blocked, and that did not escape his notice.

He throws the two persons he's holding towards the group, hoping to hit someone. Somehow, they recover before they could hit the group, and that did not escape his attention.

They all attack him all at once. He blocks some, dodges some and reflects some. Yet among the fists and kicks, he experiences very near misses, and each strike they make they are getting closer and closer on hitting the mark, on hitting him.

Are they getting better? Are they evolving as they fight him? Is it even possible for anyone to evolve so quickly? Are they _that_ in sync with each other? If it's just the trio then he could see that happening, but all ten of them?

He missed a fist and it lands on his stomach, causing him to lurch forward. And then, the barrage of attacks falls upon him. And they hurt, more than they should be. He creates an energy shield and then blasts them away.

As he recovers, he stares at his limbs in disbelief as he pants. All the bruises, punctures and cuts, they heal _very slowly_.

No, they are not getting better. They are not evolving as they fight him. No, it's not them.

It's _him_. It's him who is getting slower by each strike. It's him who couldn't muster enough strength. It's him that his wounds are healing at a very slow rate.

As he deflects the incoming hits, he ponders the question: why? Why is he slowing down? Why does he have significantly lesser strength than before? Why aren't his energy balls and energy beams as strong as before?

He staggers back a few steps and realizes he is panting in exhaustion. He asks the question to himself angrily, as another wave begins to strike. He grits his teeth in anger, and is getting angrier by the second, by each hit. _Why? Just why?_

Suddenly, his eyes widen in a sudden realization.

_"That's… the plan…"_

"GUARDIAN!" he bellows at the top of his lungs, surprising everyone and stalling the fight for a second before it continues. The favor is against him, and it stacks by each minute. But his mind is not on the battle at hand. Instead, it is on a certain someone.

_'That wretched echidna! He didn't just stall! he wears me out the entire battle! This was his plan the entire time!'_

That fight, that one _long_ fight between him and the guardian. That pesky little _pest_. Oh he so very _hates _him. That wretched guardian stood this long just so he could wear him out, to tire him out, to spend the brute of his power on him, depleting him. He pushed himself beyond his limit purposely.

The echidna is not their last stand, he was their first!

Through amidst the punches and kicks around him, his eyes focus on one specific area. Through the strikes and attacks from ten people, his eyes locked onto the rubbles where the _wretched pest_ lies.

He creates a small bubble of shield. Through this small window, he musters what is left of his power into an energy ball. He shoots, just as three fists break through his shield and plunge into his chest. He doesn't concern it. His eyes locked onto the energy ball that heads directly where the guardian lies.

It dissipates into nothingness before it could reach the rubbles. He didn't put enough energy into it.

The three fists extracted from his chest. He doesn't feel any pain, but he knows the wound isn't regenerating.

He ran out of power left. All he is now is an empty husk.

.

The anteater is still standing, despite having three holes on his chest. Everyone is tense, ready to give another round of attacks if needed. They waited if the enemy regenerates.

The wound didn't regenerate. His face is devoid of any emotions, and his eyes are faded. They hear him releases a sigh. Then, slowly, he starts to lean back and falls to the ground.

Now, it's everyone's turn to release a sigh. Sonic, Shadow and Silver revert back to their normal form. The Chaos Emeralds extract from their beings. Everyone drops to their knees, panting in exhaustion and exertion. Some of them almost passed out. The Chaos Emeralds clatter to the ground around them.

Fighting the anteater had pushed them to their limit, even Sonic, Shadow and Silver. They had gone all out on him, being merciless and ruthless. They were angry (most of them, at least), understandably so. Their friend had been fighting him nonstop for a very long time.

They had done as he said; everyone is off the country, everyone is safe. Now, they can join the fight.

Then, seeing him flying through the air, helpless, limp, with an energy ball pushing at his abdomen, and then crashed into a building, that set them off the edge.

They took everything within their fiber into the fight, for him. He had held the anteater back for so long, now it was time for them.

And it paid off, in the end. They had succeeded what he had started.

The enemy is defeated.

Suddenly, the sound of scuffling is heard, coming from the opposite side of the anteater.

"Not… done… yet…"

Knuckles emerges from the debris and shakily gets to his feet, with his head bowed. His entire body is covered with numerous cuts, covering his fur with blood, making him redder than ever, his knees wobble at his own weight and he is holding his left arm.

One of his dreads is missing, blood dripping from it. His left glove is missing and his right shoe is gone. All of his spikes have dulled out; he no longer has any spikes on his knuckles. Sonic painfully chuckles at the sight of him firmly standing.

_'Strong as the mountain he is.'_

"Hey Knucklehead!" Sonic managed to shout, causing the Echidna to slowly look up, still baring his teeth. His periwinkle eyes are still as bright and as sharp as ever. "It's over!"

The teeth disappeared behind his lips and his scowl vanished from his face. He scans the sight before him.

Everyone is there; a bit bloodied, bruised and dirty but they are all there. All of them are on their knees, incredibly tired, incredibly exhausted, hurt, but alive and (mostly) well. He smiles softly at the assurance.

"It's over…" They flash him a tired victorious smile but it immediately got wipe away when Knuckles' eyes begin to fade and he's started to lean back. "It's over…"

The anteater starts to vaporize, and the Chaos Emeralds begin to crack.

They immediately get to their feet and run towards him to catch his fall. But because they are too tired, too injured from the battle earlier, they are not fast enough. They arrived too late as he fell onto his back with a painful thud but no cries are heard.

"Knuckles!"

For the first time ever, Sonic was not fast enough.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"KNUCKLES!"

Sonic arrives first, skidding on his knees and stops right next to the echidna. Then, the rest arrives and crowds around the fallen guardian. Sonic grabs his face, turning it towards him. The way it limps in his hands makes him unsettles. They call his name, shouting even. The echidna didn't even react. His eyes are opened but still faded, and he's barely breathing.

_"As long as the Master Emerald exists, I am alive."_

His words suddenly begin to repeat in their minds, from what he had said not too long ago.

_"He isn't JUST absorbed the Master Emerald and BECAME the Master Emerald…"_

_'Destroying the enemy… means also destroying the Master Emerald… which means…'_

Suddenly all the dots connect. It all begins to make sense, and his words to them…

_"Sonic, Tails, Amy… Thank you… for being the greatest friends I've ever had…"_

_"Silver… Take care of the future."_

_"Don't worry Shadow… I'll send her your regards… when I get there."_

_"Blaze… it's an honor… to meet a kindred spirit."_

_"Espio, Vector, Charmy… thank you for looking after the Master Emerald when I am not around… and I'm proud of you."_

_"Rouge… I love you…"_

A sigh caught their attention. Looking down, he is smiling softly, at them, at no one, with his faded eyes focused on nothing, on anything. Tears streak down his face as his eyes begin to flutter shut.

"No! Don't you dare go to sleep for me, you Knucklehead!" Sonic shakes his body vigorously to keep him away, slapping his cheek as hard as he could with his remaining strength.

"I'm fine…" he whispers very softly, almost inaudible, and his eyes finally shut.

"Don't!"

The last remaining of the enemy, along with the Master Emerald within him, and the Chaos Emeralds around the world, disappeared.

"I'm fine…"

His chest stopped rising…

"N… No…"

But the soft smile stays on his lips.

"Don't leave us…"

.

Sonic slumps over at the steps, looking down at his feet as if they are the most interesting thing in the world. He sighs in irritation and rubs his face with his left hand.

"How can you cope up with all this?" he asks out loud. Only the rustles of the trees answered him. "I'm only been sitting here for, like, half a minute and I can't stand this already. Never would I've said that the silence is deafening and actually mean it."

He places his elbow on his knee and rests his head on the same hand. He looks down at his right hand, holding an overly large glove.

"Is this what's you've been coping before we entered your life? Don't you ever get lonely here? Or is loneliness your friend?"

Instead of running like he used to, he walks to the edge of the island. He looks down, expecting to see an entire city from above the cloud. But all he got is a face full of salt water of the sea.

Angel Island is, of course, no longer a floating island. It is now rest in the sea, thankfully near where Sonic lived. He sighs sadly. He turns around and walks to where the shrine lies. Tails' plane is right next to it. At the base of the shrine are Tails and Amy, surrounded by wildlife that seems to flourish the ground.

They are stroking a young fawn, seemingly enjoying themselves, but Sonic knows better. When they arrived on Angel Island earlier, they both refused to climb up the shrine, trembling on spot and eyes damp.

He couldn't blame them. When he stood right in front where the Master Emerald would be, he let out a few tears of his own before wiping them away.

He turns away from the duo and looks back at the shrine, expecting the Master Emerald to float right in the middle of it, with its loyal guardian standing before it.

But all his eyes met are an empty pedestal.

Another tear streaks down his cheek, and he didn't bother to wipe it away this time.

.

"_It's an honor… to meet a kindred spirit."_

Blaze snaps back into reality when the apple in her hand slips and falls onto the ground. She groans in frustration and grabs the apple back before pinching the bridge of her nose. She keeps losing focus on her job; her mind keeps repeating his words.

_'Kindred spirit…'_

Both of them are a guardian to something very precious, her with the Sol Emeralds and him the (once) Master Emerald. Both are once a loner, until Sonic and his pals enter their life.

Now, the Master Emerald is gone, and so does its guardian.

She wonders. Will she face what he had faced? Will she be strong enough if it ever came? She sighs and shakes her head to clear her thought.

For now, she focuses on the present, but she couldn't help and thinks about the past.

"_It's an honor…"_

She shivers as his words pass through her mind once more.

.

"Scram!"

A small group of people runs away from the trio, yelling in fear while at it. The trio sighs tiredly before turning around.

"Come on, let's clean up the mess they left behind," Espio says. Vector and Charmy nod in agreement. They start gathering the ditched pickaxes and shovels all over the ground, piling them up and ready for disposal.

They found out that Angel Island is filled to the brim with gems and rare minerals. Not only that, the wildlife here is highly sought out for. Now, because the island is no longer floating in the sky, miners and poachers start to invade it, destroying it.

This is where the Chaotix steps in. They chase away any people, anyone, who are a threat to the island. Some had disguised as scientists or tourists, but even they are not welcomed as well, authentic scientists or not. They will use force if need be. They will fight back as much as they can to defend the ground.

It is their home now, but for a reason. They are there to guard the island, preserving what he had left behind. It is the last thing they could do.

.

Shadow is in an area he is very unfamiliar with. He is not in a secluded area, away from the people or anyone. He is currently standing in a backyard of a nice looking house, right in the middle of a neighborhood. He feels very uncomfortable, really out of his comfort zone.

But…

Shadow suddenly feels a tug on his right leg. He looks down and sees Cream looking up at him with wide eyes, with a shy Chao behind her back. She holds up a piece of paper towards him, even getting on her toes doing so.

Hesitantly, he takes it off from her hands and she drops back to her feet, giving him a look Shadow not familiar. Hope? Fear? Expectation? All of them? He turns his attention towards the given paper.

It's a drawing… of Cream… with him… smiling. It's a drawing of a child, but he can tell. There is no scowl on his face, no red glare or crossed arms; just smiling – dare he says – happily. He looks back down at Cream, now understanding the look she gave him.

_"She's been wanting to see you smile, dying to get your attention, wishing to be your friend."_

For the first time since forever, just for the little bunny before him, he gives the smallest smile while giving her a pat on the head. She squeals in delight and a blinding smile takes over her face.

_'Maybe I'll start over,'_ Shadow thinks to himself, seeing how happy Cream is at his small gesture. _'Baby steps…'_ He looks up at the sky, expecting to see a huge chunk of land floating there in the distance.

But the sky is empty except for the clouds.

.

"Are you… Rogue the Bat?" the mail-rat inquires, squinting that the name on the package. One of her ears twitches in annoyance.

"It's Rouge."

"Whatever. A package delivery for you. Sign here and whatever…"

Swallowing a growl down her throat, she did as she's told so and snatches the package from his hand before closing the door on his face. Then she turns her attention to the small package.

It's small enough to fit the palm of her hand, entirely wrapped in brown paper, with her address and name scribbled on it. She wonders who is it from before shrugging and tears away the wrapping.

She's greeted by a small rectangular box, separated by two halves split by a horizontal line. It looks like handcrafted, by experienced hands, beatifically. She opens it and nearly dropped it from shock.

Right in the middle of the small box is a small pure diamond. There is a note attached on the inside of the cover, same handwriting as the previous one.

_Took me a little bit of digging and some carving  
But I remember my promise_

She lets the tears stream down her face, didn't bother to hold them back; same goes to the sobs that erupt from her throat. She collapses to the ground, clutching the small box close to her chest.

"You… Knucklehead…"

Through her tears, she gazes back down at the contents of the small box. She has a soft spot for diamonds (emerald excluded) but she isn't surprise that she'd found his note is more valuable than the diamond.

"You… stupid… Knucklehead…"

.

Silver walks around the city. The future is now different, unfamiliar yet familiar at the same time. It is now flourish with happy citizens, tall buildings and busy traffics. He arrives at the center of the city. It's a busy park, filled with people, but that's not what he came for.

He looks up at the tall statue of a figure, placed right at the very center of the park, at the very center of the city. It is recently re-innovated, renewed after being worn down for so long by time. It's nice that the citizen are putting up a memorial of their savior.

The figure hunches forward. One spiked fist pointing forward while the other hung limply at his side, the teeth are bared and an angry scowl on his face. He knows that posture, he was there. He saw the battle. Silver knows the cause that birthed the iconic posture.

His name is written under the statue, engraved on a golden plate. He places his hand on it, caressing it gently. They spelled his name right, thankfully. The title is extended, dramatized, but fitting enough.

"Thank you," he whispers to the statue, silently wishing for the real person to hear him. He sweeps away the little dusts from the golden plate, cleaning it. He smiles in satisfaction once it is cleaned, gleaming from the sunlight.

_Knuckles the Echidna  
The Failed Guardian Who Saved The World_


End file.
